Do you have a financial anxiety, dilemma or quandary? Ask Jessie Hewitson, veteran money journalist and editor, and new financial agony aunt for The i Paper. Jessie is answering readers’ questions while consulting with the top experts in the field (many of whom charge high fees) to get readers the very best advice. She will combine this with her own life experiences, which includes not always making the most sensible financial decisions in her personal life. Email questions to [email protected], with Ask Jessie in the subject line and she will get to work.
I am 71, live in Ecuador and have never applied for my pension. I have changed my name, sex and my passport is in my old name and sex and out of date. What is the process I need to go through to receive my UK state pension?
We emailed each other after your initial message. You explained that you worked in the British Army, served in the Gulf War, then moved to the US. You had gender reassignment surgery in Thailand in 2000, worked for the Red Cross in Africa as a nurse for six years and ended up in Ecuador, where you live with your long-term partner.
Your letter highlights the financial admin involved in changing gender. You have an Armed Forces pension, a private pension with Legal & General (L&G) and a state pension you are entitled to, but you’re going to have to fill in a lot of forms and exercise patience to get access to the money.
You told me you have applied for the L&G pension a few times but were rejected. You are worried that you don’t have a paper trail to prove your time in the UK and as you don’t have valid passport, reapplying for this should be your first job. Because if you have this, your gender recognition certificate and your name change documentation you should not be refused again.
Given that your old passport has expired, you will need to start a new application. You will have to download and fill in the usual form, and Section 2 will cover your new gender and name. You will need to post the forms (as you are abroad you can’t do an electronic application) with a certified copy of your gender recognition certificate, or the original, and your name change document. There are established processes in place to deal with this so it shouldn’t be too difficult.
I spoke to Jamie Lowe, director of True Self Wealth – the first trans-run financial advice practice in the UK – and a partner practice of St James’ Place and showed him your emails.
Jamie points out that your Armed Forces pension is a defined benefit one, which means a large pot of communal money is invested, and individuals within the scheme have a claim to a proportion of it per year. The longer you wait to claim it the more you miss out on, unlike a defined contribution benefit, which is a pot of money invested on your behalf that continues to grow until you claim it.
So basically, don’t put it off any longer. You need to complete two forms, which you download from the UK Government’s website then send them off to Veterans UK, a department run by the Ministry of Defence.
The AFPS Form 14 is a pension forecast, which will show how much you are due. Once you have this, you send it, along with the AFPS Form 8, which is what you need to claim a “preserved pension”, i.e. one that you are due after you leave a job.
“Unfortunately, arranging the payments will take some time,” Jamie advises, “and you may not get an uplift or back pay, but you can ask”.
For the state pension, your first step is to email the International Pension Centre, a branch of the DWP that looks after pensions for people living abroad. It’s also unlikely to be quick – and again you’ll need to send the same paperwork as the passport application.
The good news is, as you haven’t claimed your state pension yet, it may have been automatically deferred, which boosts how much you are paid. This is by 5.8 per cent for every year you don’t claim it, so it is worth checking with the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP).
As for your L&G pension, Jamie points out that every pension provider will have a procedure for changing names and gender. You’ll need to contact them directly, but it shouldn’t be too different to the processes outlined above.
I’ve read the Government’s guidance on this, and it says anyone working with you on this has to be sensitive and professional. So while it’s going to be a definite admin hassle, hopefully it shouldn’t be more than that.
From what you have told me, you have a good life in Ecaudor, and you said that while tourists can be rude and abusive, the local population supports you. I envy all your travelling as I’m now so suburban, travelling from my home in north London to central London feels an adventure. I asked if I could name you for this piece and you said yes – you are proud of the life you now have. I hope this is the last step in your new life, and with a bit of printing, form-filling and effort, I’m sure you’ll get there.
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